Chapter Text
Izuku was distraught. The Grim Reaper, the king of deal and harvester of souls, required protection? From what? From who? What could even be there to challenge death itself, what lunatic or all powerful entity had the gall to challenge the natural order?
"What… What do you mean, 'for protection'? Protection from what?" Izuku let the question in his mind slip from his mouth, covering said orifice as the realization set in that he had just questioned the entity another time.
Death was undisturbed, yet remained staring off into the vast abyss before them. He too was filled with thought, perhaps pertaining to the greenette himself who seemed so curious of what was and what will be.
"...Why so interested in my reasoning?" It inquired, shifting slightly beneath his tattered, shadowy cloak. "Are you… Perhaps, intrigued by natural law?"
Izuku looked down and shrugged, crossing his arms in order to embrace himself out of comfort. For some reason the words "natural law" began to remind himself of his life, how he had suffered so much just because it was a part of how the world "worked". He wasn't exactly gleeful at that realization.
"Maybe just a little…" He admitted, averting his attention to his shoes, the same shoes that he wore almost everyday up until this point. It was odd to see them carry on with him even in death. "Forgive me, it's just… I don't know how to feel, Ankou-Sama. You're death, what could possibly challenge you if there is a natural order? Even I couldn't fight it, and I suffered my whole life trying…"
An interesting question indeed, yet Ankou wasn't sure if the answer was something a mortal child could handle. Then again, the greenette had handled the answers to his own questions quite well so far, the story surely wouldn't shock him too much.
"...It's quite the explanation, I'm unsure if thou are… Fit to hear it." The reaper spoke, continuing his unwavering focus on the horizon before them. He wawa fixated on it, almost as if he wondered what lay beyond it himself.
"You think I won't be able to handle the truth..?" Izuku pondered aloud, earning a small shake of Death's shadowed head. No, that wasn't quite the reason, it went a lot deeper than just that.
"No…" He answered simply, his ghastly tone beginning to make the greenette grow uneasy. For the first time he turned to gaze into the abyss of the man's cloak and was met with his actual face, no not a skull or pure abyss, but the face of a young adult male with pale skin, pitch blake sclera with no iris to speak of, and black hair. His gaze was sharp, and shadows emanated to recover his face from the abyss of his cloak. "If I tell you I am afraid thou may become exactly what I require protection from… You are a willful soul, child. But once you learn the truth… You may use that willpower for the wrong purpose."
Izuku was once again left speechless. Distraught, if you will. Death himself was suggesting that Izuku's will alone would be enough of a threat that he'd need his own weapon in order to shield himself from whatever would come of himself. It was quite a lot to think about, yet he remembered his idols. Would the heroes of today fight against death itself, or would they willingly accept it as long as they protected others. The answer was obvious.
"I wouldn't want to bring you harm, Ankou-Sama. You've been the only one to sit and talk with me like this for a long time…" Izuku uttered, mumbling under his breath as he averted the reaper's gaze. As the greenette turned away, Ankou's face returned to it's original form, hiding his features once more. "I just… I guess I just don't want it to end."
Death stood silent for a moment, he was already aware of the boy's struggle throughout his lifetime and decided in an act of kindness that he'd sit with the boy for just a while longer. "...There are those filled with regret. Souls that do not wish to carry on, and instead decide to fight against the natural order. I simply carry the scythe to protect myself from their struggle, and to ensure that I reap their soul."
"It's hard to think that people would fight against you of all people… I mean, you're death! There's no way you could lose, right?" Izuku exclaimed. Death's silence was enough hesitation for the greenette to realize that there are some that even defeat death himself. "Wait, there's no way you could lose, right?"
"There's a reason me of all people would require a weapon, boy." The reaper commented, turning his gaze back to the horizon as he let out what Izuku could only infer was a sigh. "It's an… Unfortunate fate, but one that I must bear alone. The world would be destroyed if there was no death to speak of."
Izuku figured that being death would be quite the burden considering how the grim reaper carried himself, but to have to bear it alone? It was almost a tragedy. "But… Why? Why do you bear it alone? What is there that enforces such a rule?"
"...I… Do not know…" The reaper uttered, his memory was hazy. There was no recollection of anyone bestowing this role unto him. Had he always been death? Had this always been his existence?
Izuku could feel the reaper's unrest, he wondered if there was an ailment for such a thing, though wondering about it wouldn't get him anywhere. "Could… Could I help you?"
Suddenly Death's true face was revealed once more, his eyes wide in shock and his head turned towards the greenette before the shadows that enveloped him began to surround Izuku's body as well, fear consuming the both of them.
"NO!" The reaper shouted as he lost control of the shadows enveloping them. He too felt the fear of the situation beginning to plague his mind and body before suddenly…
The world went black once more.
Izuku's eyes opened to the shadow of the overpass above him shielding him from the sun that rested above. For a moment he was confused, but the realization of what had happened only moments prior, at least that's what he assumed, flashed through his mind and he shot up from the ground.
Inspecting himself he came to the realization that he, along with the street and walls around him had been covered with an odd brown liquid, reminiscent of the villain that had him held captive.
'Wait..!' Izuku thought, fully gaining cognition of what had just transpired. He was surely dead, there was no doubt about it in his mind. That conversation with death was all too real; his face… It was clear within his memory. He had died, so why was he back here?
Izuku gazed down at his hands in confusion, noticing that his skin was slightly more pale than before. It was as if there was no blood running through his veins to give his skin color. He started to panic; what was really going on here?
He froze. There was an odd lack of the beating of his heart that he knew so well. The raging heartbeat of fear was absent from his chest, he could no longer feel the thumping of his cardiovascular organ. He placed a hand to his chest, and sure enough there was nothing.
Where… Where was it? Where was his heart? Where was his heartbeat? His mind grew more and more frantic, he glanced around at his surroundings, noticing the brown sludge once more, but this time the face of the man who attempted to kill him moments prior was sliding down the wall.
"You… You monster…" The man proclaimed with his last breath, his eyes closing weakly as the puddle that was the final bit of his body mass splattered onto the floor after sliding off of the wall. He was dead, and by the implication of his words… Izuku had killed him.
"W-What..? What is going on!?" Izuku sputtered out, his eyes wide in shock and anxiety as he clutched his hands to his chest, hoping for just a moment that there would be a sliver of noise or a thump against his chest indicating that he was alive. That he was just hallucinating. "No… No! NO!"
"Izuku Midoriya." A voice called. The voice was familiar; if he recalled it sounded an awful lot like the reaper who had been so kind to him in the realm between living and dead. "Raise your head, boy!"
Izuku's head shot up at the command of the voice, and the familiar face of Ankou, the grim reaper, greeted him with a mixture of anger and concern. "A-Ankou… H-How..?"
"I'm… I'm sorry. What has become of you, it's… It's my fault." He explained, struggling with the words as his face was coated with shadow and his head drooped in regret. "When you asked to assist me you unknowingly formed a contract, binding you as my herald, my right hand…"
"W-Wait, so… A-Am I dead still? Am I a r-reaper?" He questioned, falling to his knees as the information being given to him was almost too much to bear. Was he doomed with the same fate as Ankou?
"...In some way, yes. You're a reaper now, child. Yet, you remain mortal, you are a bridge between living and dead, just as limbo." He explained, giving the greenette an apologetic expression as his true face was revealed. "Just as… My prison."
"Can't you just, I don't know, get rid of the contract? I-I can't live basically being undead, what am I even supposed to do? What does being your herald even mean?" Izuku questioned frantically, making some weak plea to rid him of whatever curse had just been bestowed upon him.
"I… I cannot in good conscience do that. Thou would perish if I tore up the contract, you would go back to limbo and be forced to move on to the horizon. Is that what you wish for, child?" The man explained further, questioning what it was at this point that he wanted to do. This was his second chance at life, and although it may not have been ideal, it was his best bet to live a full life. "You would miss out on a second lease on life."
"S-So it's either this or death..? That's… W-What do I do from here? How… How do I go on living without a pulse? People will surely ask questions, right?" He inquired, earning a short silence from the reaper as he pondered the answer to the boy's question. He knew of his ambitions, of his entire life as he now held the boy's soul in the palm of his hand.
"Live out your desires, I do not wish to take that from you. The only one who will know the truth is you, unless you wish to change that." He started, reaching into his cloak and taking out a small vial filled with what appeared to be a small blue wisp. A soul- his soul. "All I ask is that you bring me these vials whenever thou encounter an unlucky soul, doomed to meet their end. On this mission thou may encounter those that we discussed prior, those that fight death. It will be on you alone to handle them, but do not fret. With the path you choose in your future…" He continued, handing the vial to Izuku by taking his hand and closing it over the soul-filled vial. "...You will acquire the skills to deal with them. I can see it now."
"What..? What are you talking about, what 'path'?" The greenette questioned for the umpteenth time, his eyes strained with panic and his tone laced with fear as he clutched the vial tightly. He was afraid of what was happening, of what was going to happen, and what did happen. "A-Ankou, what do I do..? I'm scared…"
The reaper stretched his arm out and laid it atop the greenette's bush of hair, leaning down enough to look the boy in the eyes with a comforting smile as his true face expressed relaxation and tranquility. "You live. Live the way thou chooses as a reaper, and I will stand by you for it all. Thou won't be alone like I." He declared, enveloping the greenette with an aura of calm and collection that helped him to relax and come out of his panicked state. "Can you do that for me, Izuku Midoriya? Can you live a life of your choosing? One that no longer will burden you?"
Izuku looked down, his heart telling him to weep and yet he could not even muster a single tear. It seemed even his emotions were dead just as his body. He opened his palm to reveal the vial of his soul and he nodded, popping the cork as he opened his mouth to speak.
"Yes. Yes I will."
Izuku eyes fluttered open for the third time that afternoon, after converging with his soul once more he saw that death was no longer in front of him, the walls and street around him were still covered with that same brown sludge, but he felt… Unbothered now. It was almost calm, eerily so, but it felt normal now to the greenette. He wasn't aware of what had changed within him, but he figured his acceptance helped his body fully adjust to what happened.
He placed a hand to his chest, and waited. He continued to wait for some time, yet it never came. He truly wasn't dreaming, his body had undergone a change, something that made him practically undead. He used the vial in his hand to look at his features, noting that his skin was still pale, but his eyes were still full of life.
Izuku stuffed the vial in his backpack, the vessel that held his soul moments prior was something important. He wasn't sure if it was sentimental, or literal, but something was telling him to hold on to it for safekeeping. He wondered if that was death's pull on his psyche.
"ALRIGHT VILLAIN, YOU CAN'T RUN ANYMORE- Oh. Did… Did you do this, young man?" A loud voice called, alerting Izuku to the appearance of someone new. Turning to face the voice, he was shocked to find that it was All Might of all people, yet something was off about him. Izuku could see a dark figure looming over him, it was like… It appeared like a vestige of Ankou. Did that mean All Might was soon to meet his end? "Um… Excuse me? Are you alright, kid?"
"H-Huh? Oh, uh, yeah… Th-There was a villain who attacked me, but because of my, erm, quirk…" Izuku trailed off, looking down bashfully as he didn't exactly know what to say or how to go about explaining the situation.
"I see…" The man replied, looking around at the mess before giving the boy a comforting smile and a pat on the shoulder. "No worries, I'll clean this mess up and have it all sorted. You head on home, you shouldn't be here when the police arrive."
"W-Wait, before you go, um… C-Could I get your autograph?" Izuku requested, pulling his notebook out from his backpack and opening it up to a blank page. All Might noticed it's singe marks, but assumed due to the damaged remnants of the villain around them that it just had something to do with his aforementioned "quirk". He might need to be careful when dealing with this kid.
"Of course, young man! Who am I writing this out to?" He questioned, pulling a pen that he always keeps on his person just for occasions such as this out of his cargo pants pocket. The greenette smiled and handed him the notebook.
"Izuku. Izuku Midoriya." He replied, watching as the man signed his notebook before handing it back. Izuku inspected the notebook to see his massive signature inscribed on both blank pages. "Thank you for this…"
"The pleasure's all mine, kid. Now, run along." He instructed, waving the greenette off as he began to jog towards the direction of his home. A small apartment that he shared with his mother. And just in time as well, the police showed up shortly after.
As he continued down the street Izuku admired the signature of the number one hero, the man that constantly was an inspiration to him, who he had just met, actually signed his notebook. An autograph to add to his collection, something he would cherish forever.
Suddenly, due ot his lack of attention, the greenette found himself bumping into someone by chance, someone who was surprisingly solid enough to cause him to fall on his ass.
"A-Ah, I'm sorry-" The greenette attempted to apologize as he opened his eyes to inspect whoever he had just ran into, only for it to be the worst possible person. Katsuki Bakugou. "K-Kacchan…"
"Hah?" The blond spoke, turning to face the fool brave enough to walk into him so casually. It was the damn weakling again, why was he even here? Didn't he go home already after crying like a little bitch? "Deku? The hell's your problem, you picking a fight?"
"N-N-No! Not at all, i-it was an accident, K-Kacchan!" Izuku defended, stumbling back up to his feet as he backed away from the aggravated blond. "I-I was just trying to get home, a-and I wasn't looking w-where I was going-"
"SHUT IT!" The blond shouted, silencing the greenette forcefully as he opened his palm and began to cause small explosions to crackle in his hand. "I've been itching to do this since earlier, you and your damn stupid dreams end here."
K-Kacchan, please, wait!" Izuku tried to intercept him, but it was too late, he was already swinging his fist at him in an attempt to strike him. Surprisingly there was no impact to come, Izuku had his eyes closed in fear in order to brace for it, but there was nothing.
Opening his eyes he saw that the blond was no longer in front of him, and instead was behind him stricken with an odd chill as fear crashed into him like the titanic and the iceberg. It was overwhelming, Izuku wasn't quite aware of what just happened to him, but the blond obviously wasn't feeling well. The color had drained from his face.
"K-Kacchan..?" He called, reaching a hand out to the blond, but in that very moment he snapped out of his trance and swatted his hand away in fear. "W-Woah!"
"You..!" He called, pointing a shaky finger outwards to his childhood friend who was now seemingly covered in a shadowy cloak, his eyes lifeless and his form, although the same frightened nerd that he knew all too well, appeared almost mystical. "What are you..!? Is… Is that your quirk!?"
"What are you…" Izuku mumbled, trailing off as he stared down at his hand, noticing that he was now shrouded with a abyssal cloak, similar to that of Ankou, the reaper who had bestowed such a power unto him, although he wasn't quite aware of it until now. "What is this..?"
"Like I would know! Stay the hell away from me, you monster!" The blond shouted in retaliation, running past the greenette while consciously avoiding contact with him. Izuku watched as he slowly made his way away from him, his body suddenly relaxing and the very cloak that laid upon him seconds prior dissipated into nothingness. He was confused, but one thing was for sure.
…He surely was different now.